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The  PAN  AMERICAN  UNION 

JOHN  BARRETT  : : ; Director  General 

FRANCISCO  J.  YANES  : Assistant  Director 

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OUR  OPPORTUNITY 

IN  LATIN  AMERICA 

BY 

John  Barrett 

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WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 

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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/ouropportunityinOObarr.- 


OUR  OPPORTUNITY  IN  LATIN 
AMERICA'  . • . . • . . • . . • . 


These  are  the  times  when  everybody  should 
be  studying  the  twenty  American  republics 
lying  south  of  the  United  States.  These  are 
the  days  of  unprecedented  and  legitimate 
opportunity  in  Latin  America  for  the  com- 
mercial and  financial  interests  of  this  country. 
This  present  year  should  be  the  beginning  of 
a new  epoch  in  the  material,  social  and  polit- 
ical relations  of  North  and  South  America. 

The  next  ten  years  are  going  to  be  “all 
American"  years.  All  America  is  to  attract 
the  attention  of  all  Americans.  This  new 
development  is  inevitable.  The  cause  is 
found  in  the  natural  wealth,  resources,  and 
potentialities  of  Central  and  South  America, 
their  actual  commerce  and  trade,  their  re- 
markable progress  during  recent  years,  to- 
gether with  the  unceasing  propaganda  of  the 
Pan  American  Union,  which  was  at  first  even 
ridiculed  and  little  appreciated,  but  is  now 
generally  valued  and  recognized.  The  occa- 
sion of  this  new  interest  at  this  moment  is 
the  European  war  and  the  emphasis  it  has 
placed  upon  the  geographical  segregation  and 
commercial  solidarity  of  the  nations  of  the 
western  hemisphere. 

Consider  Latin  America  in  any  phase  one 
prefers,  and  it  is  worthy  of  keen  interest.  Let 
us  first  look  at  it  geographically  and  physi- 
cally. We  see  twenty  countries  ranging  in 
area  from  little  Salvador,  with  less  than  8000 
square  miles,  or  smaller  than  Vermont,  up 
to  mighty  Brazil,  with  3,200,000  square 
miles,  or  greater  than  the  United  States 
proper  with  Great  Britain  thrown  in!  In 
all.  they  spread  over  nearly  9,000,000  square 
miles,  or  three  times  the  connected  area  of 
the  LTnited  States!  They  contain  mountains 
higher,  rivers  longer  and  more  navigable,  val- 
leys wider  and  more  fertile,  and  climates 
more  varied  than  those  of  the  United  States. 

Noting  the  population,  we  find  that  Costa 
Rica  starts  the  small  end  of  the  list  with 
400,000  inhabitants,  and  Brazil  tops  it  with 
20,000,000.  All  Latin  America  supports 
to-day  approximately  a population  of  75,000,- 
000,  which  is  increasing  by  reproduction  fas- 
ter than  is  the  population  of  the  United 
States.  When  the  new  emigration  from 
Europe  starts  in  after  the  war,  and  when  the 
Panama  Canal  is  in  full  use  by  the  shipping 
of  a peaceful  Europe,  this  total  may  soon 
overtake  and  pass  that  of  the  big  sister  nation 
of  North  America. 

THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  LATIN  AMERICAN  TRADE 

We  are  almost  astonished  by  the  figures  of 
Latin  American  commerce.  They  make  us 


respect  many  of  the  southern  republics  and 
peoples,  even  if  some  other  influences  may 
not  be  so  favorable.  In  1913  the  twenty 
southern  neighbors  of  the  United  States, 
through  sheer  strength  and  capacity,  pushed 
up  the  total  of  their  foreign  trade  to  the  huge 
sum  of  nearly  $3,000,000,000.  This  w'as 
divided  almost  equally  between  exports  and 
imports,  with  the  actual  balance  of  trade  in 
their  favor.  Argentina,  for  example,  with 
an  ambitious,  vigorous  and  prosperous  peo- 
ple numbering  about  nine  millions  of  souls, 
conducted  a foreign  commerce  valued  at  the 
surprising  total  of  $900,000,000,  which  makes 
an  average  of  about  $100  per  head.  Chile,  a 
land  of  achievement  and  promise,  lying  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  of  South  America  (like  the 
States  of  California,  Oregon  and  Washing- 
ton, on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  United  States) 
covering  an  area  of  nearly  300,000  square 
miles,  or  more  than  that  of  Texas,  and  di- 
rectly tributary  to  the  Panama  Canal,  bought 
and  sold  in  foreign  commerce  products  valued 
at  nearly  $265,000,000. 


*By  John  Barrett,  Director  General  of  the  Pan  American  Union:  formerly  U.S.  Minister  to  Argentina.  Panama 
and  Colombia.  Revised  and  reprinted  from  the  Rrview  of  Reviews.  October.  1914. 


3 


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THE  AMERICAN  REVIEW  OF  REVIEWS. 


INTEREST  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

vSeveii  years  ago,  in  early  1907,  the  Pan 
American  Union,  then  known  as  the  Bureau 
of  American  Republics,  was  reorganized  in 
accordance  with  the  action  of  the  Third  Pan 
American  Conference  held  in  1906  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  the  capital  of  Brazil.  At  that 
great  international  gathering,  made  memor- 
able by  the  presence  of  Elihu  Root,  Secretary 
of  State  under  President  Roosevelt,  it  was 
unanimously  voted  by  the  delegates  of  the 
twenty-one  independent  American  govern- 
ments to  make  the  bureau,  which  had  been 
established  by  the  First  Pan  American  Con- 
ference held  at  Washington  in  1889,  a pow- 
erful and  practical  organization  and  agency 
— absolutely  international  in  its  control,  sup- 
port and  scope — for  the  purpose  of  dissemi- 
nating useful  information  about  each  of  the 
republics  among  them  all,  and  thereby  pro- 
moting Pan  American  commerce,  intercourse, 
friendship,  and  peace.  It  fell  to  my  lot  and 
it  was  my  honor,  following  several  years’ 
service  as  United  States  Minister  in  the  three 
Latin  American  countries  of  Argentina,  Pan- 
ama, and  Colombia,  to  be  elected  the  first 
executive  officer  of  the  bureau  under  the  plan 
of  reorganization.  I can,  therefore,  speak 
feelingly  of  the  conditions  and  difficulties 
which  at  that  time  confronted  the  new  plan 
and  propaganda. 

Although  I was  splendidly  and  loyally 
directed  and  .supported  bj'  the  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States  and  the  Latin 
American  ambassadors  and  ministers,  who 
constituted  its  governing  board,  the  task  at 
first  was  indeed  discouraging  and  almost 
hopeless.  The  general  interest  in  Latin 
America  throughout  the  United  States  was 
so  little,  and  the  knowledge  of  Central  and 
South  America  possessed  by  the  leaders  of 
]niblic  opinion,  educators,  students,  travelers, 
and  especially  manufacturers  and  exporters, 
was  so  meager  that  I literally  went  up  against 
an  almost  unyielding  stone  wall  of  ignorance 
and  prejudice. 

Now,  presto  change!  The  Pan  American 
Union  is  to-day  literally  flooded,  choked  and 
overwhelmed  with  correspondence  and  in- 
ciuiries,  supplemented  by  daily  calls  in  person 
of  hundreds  of  men  and  women,  coming  from 
every  part  of  the  United  .States — and  Latin 
America  also.  Editors,  congressmen,  au- 
thors, librarians,  statisticans,  university  pro- 
fessors and  students,  tourists,  and  a multitude 
of  men  and  firms  engaged  in  manufacturing, 
exporting,  importing,  banking,  shipping,  and 
engineering,  pour  an  endless  and  swelling 
stream  of  questions  and  calls  into  the  office  of 
the  Pan  American  Union. 

Looking  at  the  international  situation  as 
it  stands  to-day,  the  war,  no  matter  how 
much  it  is  deplored,  has  done  more  in  a very 
.short  space  of  time  to  awaken  the  real  inter- 
est of  the  Government  and  people  of  the 
Ibiited  .States  in  Latin  America,  and  corre- 
spondingly to  turn  the  attention  of  the  gov- 


ernments and  people  of  Latin  America  to 
the  United  States,  than  all  other  influences 
put  together  during  the  last  few  years.  It 
has  suddenly  aroused  the  great  majority  of 
the  financial  and  commercial  men  of  the 
United  States,  who  before  gave  little  consid- 
eration to  Latin  America,  to  a study  and  real- 
ization of  the  Latin  American  opportunity. 
Their  interest  has  reacted  on  the  press  and 
public  at  large,  and  we  now  behold  a popular 
appreciation  of  the  picture  which  we  Pan 
Americans  have  long  painted  in  vain  to  the 
same  press  and  people.  In  this  quick  and 
widespread  awakening,  however,  the  great- 
est care  must  be  exercised  that  mistakes  in 
judgment  and  expectation  as  to  the  Pan 
American  field  of  opportunity  do  not  ulti- 
mately retard  the  real  understanding  and 
lasting  intercourse  that  should  permanently 
follow.  Hysteria  and  excitement  must  give 
way  to  wisdom  and  calm.  An  accurate 
knowledge  of  exact  conditions  of  trade  and 
environment  must  not  be  neglected  or  over- 
looked under  the  fascinating  influence  of  ex- 
aggerated stories  of  alleged  golden  oppor- 
tunities. 

WE  already  outranked  ENGLAND  AND  GER- 
MANY IN  LATIN  AMERICAN  TRADE 

The  truth  is  that  a considerable  element 
of  the  manufacturers,  exporters,  importers, 
investors,  bankers,  and  engineers — some  of 
them  going  back  through  an  experience  of 
thirty  years,  but  most  of  them  responding 
in  the  last  ten  years  to  the  unremitting  labor 
and  educational  work  of  the  departments  of 
State  and  Commerce  of  the  United  States 
and  the  Pan  American  Union— not  onlj' 
have  not  failed  but  have  succeeded  brilliantly 
in  this  field.  It  may  surprise  some  readers 
of  the  Review,  but  it  is  none  the  less  true, 
that  the  exporters  and  importers  of  the  United 
States  during  1913  not  only  conducted  a 
greater  total  exchange  of  trade  with  Latin 
America  than  did  their  competitors  in  either 
Great  Britain  or  Germany,  but  also  a trade 
second  only  to  that  of  these  two  countries 
combined!  Here  are  the  figures  that  teU  the 
story : The  total  exchange  of  Latin  American 
products  with  those  of  the  United  States  in 
1913  was  valued  approximately  at  $818,- 
000,000;  Great  Britain,  $644,000,000,  Ger- 
many, $408,000,000.  In  exports  to  Latin 
America,  the  United  States  slighth’  led 
Great  Britain,  while  Germany  was  far  behind! 
The  confirmator}-  export  figures  are : Great 
Britain,  about  $322,000,000;  United  States, 
$325,000,000;  Germany,  $216,000,000.  In 
purchases  or  imports  from  Latin  America, 
the  LTnited  States  has  a big  lead  over  both 
Great  Britain  and  Germany,  or  a total 
almost  equal  to  both  combined!  The  tell- 
tale figures  are:  L'nited  States,  $504,000,- 
00b;  Great  Britain,  $321,000,000;  German5', 
$189,000,000.' 

Realizing  that  it  might  be  said  in  rebuttal 
that  the  balance  of  trade  is  against  the  United 


^The  foreigh  commerce  of  the  twenty  Latin  Ameiican  countries  with  these  three  countries  in  1915  was  as 
follows:  With  the  United  States.  $978,865,686:  the  United  Kingdom.  $543,165,606;  Germany,  $13,684,804. 


OUR  OPPORTUNITY  IN  LATIN  AMERICA. 


5 


States,  as  is  not  the  case  with  Great  Britain 
and  Germany,  it  must  be,  pointed  out  that  the 
imports  of  the  United  States  from  Latin 
America  are  largely  valuable  and  useful  raw- 
products  needed  for  the  employment  of  labor 
and  capital  in  manufacturing  plants  and  for 
necessary  food  supplies.  In  other  words,  the 
United  States,  in  the  ultimate  economic 
adjustment  of  values,  has,  in  effect,  no  un- 
favorable balance  of  trade  with  Latin  America 
and  makes  consequently  the  best  showing  of 
any  nation,  not  excepting  Great  Britain  and 
Germany. 

All  this  is  emphasized  and  enlarged  upon 
in  order  to  destroy  the  old  legend  honestly 
founded  on  conditions  of  years  ago,  that  the 
United  States  is  far  behind  European  coun- 
tries and  doing  little  compared  with  them  in 
the  Latin  American  fields  of  commerce.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be  admitted  that  there 
are  still  extraordinary  opportunities  for  the 
United  States  to  increase  and  diversify  its 
Pan  American  trade.  Inasmuch,  moreover, 
as  the  United  States  has  made  such  a record 
in  average  times  and  in  conditions  of  peace, 
it  ought  to  do  correspondingly  w^ell  in  these 
exceptional  times  and  conditions  of  w-ar. 

THE  TRADE  WITH  EUROPEAN  NATIONS 

There  are  two  important  phases  of  the 
present  Pan  American  commercial  situation 
which  should  have  frank  and  thoughtful  con- 
sideration by  the  business  men  and  others 
interested;  if  they  would  fully  realize  what 
must  and  should  be  done  in  the  premises. 
The  first  is  the  amount  or  proportion  of  her 
foreign  trade  which  Latin  America  conducts 
with  European  nations,  many  of  whom  are 
now  at  war  and  a share  of  whose  trade  the 
United  States  now  expects  to  obtain.  The 
second  is  the  condition  or  capability  of  Latin 
America  to  transfer  this  commerce  with  the 
accompanying  financial  transactions  from 
Europe  to  the  United  States  and  so  swell 
the  volume  of  the  reciprocal  trade  between 
the  United  States  and  Latin  America.  The 
figures  connected  with  these  phases  are  both 
interesting  and  instructive  and  certainly  not 
dry  to  the  student  of  Pan  American  possi- 
bilities. 

The  twenty  countries  of  Central  and 
South  America,  including  the  group  of  ten 
made  up  of  Mexico,  the  five  Central  Ameri- 
can republics  of  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Sal- 
vador, Nicaragua,  and  Costa  Rica,  the  three 
Caribbean  lands  of  Cuba,  the  Dominican 
Republic  and  Haiti,  and  Panama,  together 
with  the  South  American  Continental  group 
of  ten,  consisting  of  Colombia,  Venezuela, 
Brazil,  Uruguay,  Paraguay,  Argentina,  Chile, 
Bolivia,  Peru,  and  Ecuador,  bought  imports 
and  sold  exports  in  1913,  valued  at  the 
immense  total  of  approximately  $2,865,- 
000,000,  of  which  the  imports  were  $1,325,- 
000,000,  and  exports,  $1,539,000,000.  Of 
these  imports,  fully  $770,000,000  came  from 


countries  now  either  at  war  or  under  the 
embargoes  of  war;  and  they  were  mostly 
manufactured  products  which  could  be  sup- 
plied by  the  industries  of  the  Linited  States, 
if  Latin  America  wanted  them  or  could  afford 
to  buy  them.  At  present,  by  comparison,  the 
United  States  sells  similar  products  to  Latin 
America  valued  annually  at  $317,000,000. 

These  totals  tell  their  own  story — in 
theory;  in  practise,  the  result  will  be  de- 
termined by  the  ability  of  the  American 
manufacturer  and  the  Latin  American  im- 
porter to  meet  the  new  and  peculiar  condi- 
tions of  the  market.  Of  her  exports,  Latin 
America  sells  to  the  same  European  nations 
raw  products  valued  at  approximately  $785,- 
000,000.  Although  the  United  States  takes 
Latin  America’s  output  to  the  value  of 
$504,000,000,  no  argument  is  needed  to 
point  out  the  vital  importance  to  Latin 
America  that  a market  for  these  exports, 
which  would  usuallj'  in  times  of  peace  be 
found  in  Europe,  should  now  be  found  as 
much  as  possible  in  the  United  States. 

The  grand  total  of  the  regular  annual 
commerce  which  Latin  America  conducts 
with  Europe,  when  relations  are  not  disturbed 
by  war,  should  convince  everybody  that  it 
offers  a remarkable  opportunity  for  the 
United  States.  What  it  does  will  largely 
depend  upon  its  own  efforts.  Here,  in  other 
words,  is  an  annual  business  of  approximately 
$1,553,000,000,  which  is  awaiting  an  inter- 
national readjustment.  If,  of  course,  the 
financial  and  commercial  interests  of  the 
United  States  can  devise  ways  and  means  to 
supply  what,  under  the  conditions,  Latin 
America  needs,  and  to  buy,  in  turn,  a goodly 
proportion  of  her  surplus  raw  products,  which 
have  heretofore  gone  to  Europe,  they  will 
not  only  bring  large  and  permanent  benefits 
to  themselves,  but  to  the  corresponding  in- 
terests of  Latin  America.  This  is  self 
evident. 

AMERIC.AN  BRANCH  BANKS  IN  SOUTH 
AMERICA 

But  the  opportunity  exists  not  only  alone 
in  exports  and  imports.  Akin  to  these  are 
the  banking,  shipping,  and  investment  oppor- 
tunities. The  problem  of  banks  is  nearing 
a solution,  though  there  are  still  both  diffi- 
culties and  possibilities.  Between  the  United 
States  and  Panama  there  are  several  banks 
controlled  by  United  States  capital,  but  they 
are  far  from  being  enough  for  the  demand. 
From  Panama  south  to  Argentina  and  Chile 
there  has  been  no  bank  of  United  States 
capital  until  recently  the  National  City  Bank 
of  New  York  City,  acting  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  new  Federal  Reserve  Act,  de- 
cided to  open  branches  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  and 
Buenos  Aires,  with  possible  extensions  to 
Valparaiso  and  Lima.*  There  may  be  room 
for  others  if  they  are  backed  by  sufficient 
capital,  but  they  cannot  expect  large  returns 


•Since  the  publication  of  this  article  the  National  City  Bank  of  New  York  has  established  branches  at  Buenos 
■Airesand  Rio  de  Janeiro,  at  Montevideo.  Sao  Paulo,  Santos,  Bahia,  Santiago,  and  Valparaiso 


6 


THE  AMERICAN  REVIEW  OF  REVIEWS. 


for  several  years.  Ever  since  it  was  my  ex- 
perience to  serve  as  United  States  Minister 
in  the  Argentine  Republic  ten  years  ago,  I 
have  repeatedly  urged  the  banking  interests 
of  the  United  States  to  take  advantage  of 
this  opportunity.  It  is,  therefore,  a source  of 
extreme  satisfaction  at  last  to  see  these  hum- 
ble efforts  rewarded. 

THE  INVESTMENT  FIELD 

The  general  investment  and  loan  oppor- 
tunity in  Latin  America  is  great — possibly 
greater  than  that  opening  to  direct  trade, 
banking  and  shipping.  Up  to  the  time  of 
the  outbreak  of  war  in  Europe  Latin  America 
negotiated  fully  95  per  cent  of  its  public 
and  private  loans  in  Europe.  National  bond 
issues  and  loans  for  personal  enterprises  were 
floated  and  financed  in  London,  Paris  and 
Berlin  rather  than  in  New  York.  Now,  the 
situation  must  change,  for,  even  when  the 
war  is  over,  Europe  will  need  all  its  spare 
money  for  home  loans  and  bond  issues  to 
pay  her  war  debts  and  make  up  for  the 
industrial  ravages  of  the  conflict. 

If  the  United  States  investors  will  reform 
their  prejudices  in  regard  to  revolutions,  the 
stability  of  governments  and  climatic  condi- 
tions, they  will  enter  upon  a big  new  field  of 
legitimate  opportunity  not  unlike  that  which 
they  enjoyed  twenty  years  ago  in  the  Western 
States.  They  will  also  earn  the  gratitude  of 
the  Latin  American  governments  and  peoples 
whom  they  accommodate.  Not  only  must 
governments  have  national  loans,  but  railroad 
extensions,  new  steam  and  electric  lines, 
water  powers  and  plants,  harbor  improve- 
ments and  docks,  building  operations,  mining 
and  timber  working  operations,  and  harvest- 
ing of  crops,  must  be  financed.  With  these 
demands  for  money  covered  by  the  United 
States,  the  vast  supplies  and  materials  re- 
quired by  the  consequent  dev^elopment  should 
come  from  the  United  States  and  reflect 
favorably  on  trade. 

IMPROVED  SHIPPING  FACILITIES 

In  shipping,  there  is  a peculiar  opportunity 
and  yet  it  has  its  limitations.  While  until 
now  there  have  been  only  a few  vessels  flying 
the  American  flag  and  running  between  the 
Atlantic  ports  of  the  United  States  and  those 
of  the  east  coast  of  Latin  America,  it  must 
not  be  overlooked  that,  considering  foreign 
vessels  with  reference  to  numbers  in  service 
and  facilities  for  freight  and  passengers,  there 
has  been  great  improvement  during  the  last 
five  years.  So  extensive  has  been  the  favor- 
able change  that  many  men  in  public  life 
and  some  editors  and  special  writers  have 
failed  to  keep  track  of  the  new  conditions 
for  carrying  mails,  freight,  and  passengers. 
They  still  cite  the  old  condition  as  if  they 
were  true  of  the  present.  It  is  not  an  exag- 
geration to  state  that  there  has  been  a 
hundred  per  cent  improvement  in  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  British  and  German 
vessels  engaged  in  the  Pan  American  trade 


during  the  last  ten  years  and  up  to  the  out- 
break of  the  war. 

It  is  a fiction  that  a considerable  portion 
of  the  United  States  mails  to  Brazil,  Argen- 
tina, and  Uruguay,  are  sent  via  Europe.  It 
is  another  fiction  that  there  are  no  good 
passenger  vessels  sailing  from  New  York  to 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  Montevideo,  and  Buenos 
Aires.  In  fact,  there  are  now  several  large 
passenger  boats  on  that  regular  run,  which 
provide  as  good  accommodations  as  can  be 
found  on  most  of  the  European  vessels.  The 
steamship  service  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 
the  Caribbean  sea  is  as  fine  as  that  on  the 
Mediterranean,  and  here  many  American 
flags  are  seen.  The  recent  transfer  of  the 
large  fleet  of  United  Fruit  Company’s  boats 
from  the  English  to  the  American  flag  marks 
a great  step  in  advance.  The  best  opening 
for  improvement  in  both  foreign  and  Ameri- 
can steamship  service  is  on  the  western  or 
Pacific  coast  of  Central  and  South  America. 
Of  freight  vessels  and  lines  flying  foreign 
flags,  there  were  abundant  offerings  for 
charter  and  cargo,  up  to  the  outbreak  of 
war,  throughout  the  Pan  American  seas. 
That  the  trade  of  the  United  States  and 
Latin  America  has  not  been  so  greatly  ham- 
pered, as  often  declared,  is  shown  conclu- 
sively by  the  fact  that  this  commerce  has 
increased  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent  in  the 
last  eight  or  nine  years,  or  from  about  $450,- 
000,000  to  over  $815,000,000! 

TRAVEL  TO  AND  FROM  LATIN  AMERICAN 
COUNTRIES 

An  interesting  opportunity  of  signal  im- 
portance in  the  present  crisis,  is  that  of  de- 
veloping the  exchange  of  travel  between  the 
representative  men  of  Latin  America  and 
those  of  the  United  States.  Instead  of 
always  planning  trips  and  excursions  from 
the  United  States  to,  for  example,  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Montevideo,  Buenos  Aires,  Santiago, 
La  Paz,  and  Lima,  why  not  invite  the  men 
of  those  cities  and  their  chambers  of  com- 
merce to  send  delegations  to  the  correspond- 
ing cities  of  the  LMited  States?  The  war 
will  materially  reduce  the  number  of  South 
Americans  and  Central  Americans  who  regu- 
larly go  to  Europe  and  its  capitals.  Why 
not  bring  them  to  Washington,  New  York, 
Chicago,  San  Francisco,  New  Orleans,  and 
the  other  interesting  cities  of  the  United 
States?  Correspondingly,  if  only  a small 
portion  of  the  Americans  who  usually  seek 
European  entertainment  will  visit  the  cities 
of  South  and  Central  America,  they  will 
enjoy  an  interesting  experience  and  gain  new 
ideas  of  the  western  hemisphere.  There  is 
no  more  powerful  agency  for  peace,  acquaint- 
ance, and  commerce,  than  traveling.  Travel 
and  trade — in  short,  travel  and  trade  to- 
gether! 

There  is  also  the  little  considered  but  most 
important  educational  and  intellectual  op- 
portunity. Never  was  there  a more  oppor- 
tune moment  than  this  one  for  an  intellectual 
appreciation  of  Latin  America  by  the  edu- 


OUR  OPPORTUNITY  IN  LATIN  AMERICA. 


7 


cated  men  and  women  of  the  United  States. 
There  should  be  a closer  coming  together  of 
the  men  of  intellectual  leadership  of  all  the 
American  nations  and  peoples.  There  should 
be  a migration  to  Latin  America  of  the 
educators,  scholars,  scientists,  and  students 
of  the  United  States — not  to  teach  and  lead, 
but  to  learn  and  cooperate.  Latin  American 
savants,  professors,  authors,  and  publicists 
should  be  invited  to  visit  the  United  States 
and  address  the  learned  societies  of  its  insti- 
tutions and  colleges.  Students,  both  those 
in  course  and  graduates,  should  be  exchanged 
in  increasing  numbers  by  the  universities  of 
North  and  South  America.  For  this  end  the 
Pan  American  Lmion  has  labored  incessantly 
for  years  and  it  is  gratifying  that  some  con- 
siderable progress  is  being  made.  Notable 
work  in  this  direction  has  been  done  by  the 
Pan  American  section  of  the  Carnegie  Peace 
Endowment.  Many  of  the  universities,  col- 
leges, and  scientific  schools  of  the  United 
States,  have  gone  on  record  in  the  Pan 
American  Union  as  offering  inducements  to 
students  from  Latin  America,  and  it  is 
believed  that  this  action  will  be  reciprocated. 

Allied  to  this  idea  of  intellectual  and  edu- 
cational relationship  is  that  of  the  study  in 
the  United  States  of  the  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese languages  and  their  literature.  Dur- 
ing the  next  decade,  these  languages  bid  fair 
to  be  of  more  practical  value  to  the  average 
young  American  than  French  or  German. 
The  more  men  and  women  there  are  in  the 
United  States  who  can  speak  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  fluently,  the  quicker  will  that  sen- 
sitive line  of  difference  between  North  and 
South  Americans  disappear.  It  is  to  be  re- 
membered, moreover,  that  “Spanish  Amer- 
ica” as  the  phrase  is  commonly  used,  is  hardly 
correct.  Intended  to  mean  or  cover  all  the 
countries  of  the  western  hemisphere  south  of 
the  United  States,  it  cannot  include  Brazil, 
the  largest  Latin  American  country  in  both 
area  and  population,  whose  language  is 
strictly  Portuguese,  or  even  little  Haiti 
where  French  is  the  predominant  tongue. 
“Latin  America”  is  the  only  safe  and  accu- 
rate general  descriptive  phrase  in  referring  to 
the  countries  south  of  the  United  States,  but 
the  very  serious  mistake  must  not  be  made  of 
disregarding  the  individuality  of  each  coun- 
try as  is  so  often  done.  In  discussing  and 
describing  the  peoples  of  this  or  that  land, 
they  should  not  be  called  “Latin  Americans,” 
“Spanish  Americans,”  “South  Americans,” 
or  “Central  Americans,”  but  described  as 
“Argentines,”  “Bolivians,”  “Brazilians,” 
"Chilians,”  "Peruvians,”  "Colombians,” 
"Mexicans,”  et  al.  To  call  an  "Argentine,” 
or  “Brazilian,”  by  the  name  of  "Spaniard” 
or  "Portuguese”  would  be  exactly  like  call- 
ing a Yankee,  or  Southerner,  who  is  descended 
through  many  generations  in  the  United 
States,  an  "Englishman”! 

Now,  a word  of  caution  may  not  be  out 
of  place.  There  is  no  Eldorado  in  Latin 
America!  There  is  no  golden  road  to  sudden 
wealth  in  Central  and  Southern  America! 
There  is  no  army  of  business  men  there 


waiting  with  coin  of  the  realm  in  their  out- 
stretched hands  to  purchase  anything  and  all 
things  which  may  be  carried  to  them ! There 
is  no  actual  famine  in  the  real  necessities  of 
life  and  in  food  supplies.  There  is  no  magic 
way  of  transferring  immediately  the  great 
buying  and  selling  operations  of  Latin  Amer- 
ica and  Europe  to  corresponding  transactions 
with  the  United  States.  There  is,  naturally, 
an  unavoidable  scarcity  of  money,  due  to  the 
widespread  financial  stringency  of  the  world, 
caused  by  the  war,  which  must  for  some  time 
interfere  with  the  upbuilding  of  a great,  new 
Pan  American  commerce,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  these  countries,  these  peoples,  their 
products,  their  resources,  their  potential 
wealth  and  their  conditions  of  demand  and 
supply,  already  extensively  developed,  are 
there,  and  worthy  of  the  careful  investigation 
and  study  of  business  men  and  others  who 
desire  to  participate  in  the  great  onward 
movement  of  the  southern  republics.  The 
best  way  to  know  this  fascinating  field  is  to 
visit  it  in  person — or  to  send  trusted  and 
trained  representatives  with  an  appreciation 
and  knowledge  of  the  environment,  not  only 
as  it  existed  prior  to  the  war,  but  as  it  is  now 
affected  by  the  war. 

At  this  writing  many  things  are  being  done 
officially  and  unofficially  to  meet  the  extraor- 
dinary situation,  and  a spirit  of  optimism 
is  beginning  to  take  the  place  of  the  pessi- 
mism which  prevailed  in  both  North  and 
South  America  when  the  European  war 
started  its  cruel  campaign.  The  transporta- 
tion problem  is  being  tentatively  met  by  acts 
of  Congress,  providing  respectively  for  the 
American  registry  of  foreign-built  vessels  and 
for  the  purchase  of  vessels  by  the  Government 
to  be  leased  in  turn  to  private  companies.  In 
a very  short  time  it  should  be  possible  to 
judge  fairly  the  effect  and  value  of  these 
measures,  and  to  take  such  other  cooperative 
steps  as  they  may  require.  The  authorization 
given  by  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  to  the 
National  City  Bank  of  New  York  to  open 
branches  in  South  America  has  already  re- 
sulted in  a decided  improvement  of  the 
Argentine-United  States  situation,  and  should 
work  equally  well  in  other  countries. 

The  Argentine  Ambassador,  Dr.  Romulo 
S.  Naon,  at  the  beginning  of  trouble,  under 
the  instructions  of  his  government,  opened 
a special  office  in  New  York  City  and  con- 
ducted a natural  gold  exchange  business  be- 
tween Argentina  and  the  United  States 
which  proved  a great  help  to  their  business 
and  financial  relations.  Similar  actions  were 
taken  by  the  Brazilian  and  Chilean  Ambas- 
sadors and  the  Ministers  of  some  of  the  other 
countries,  although  they  did  not  actually  open 
special  offices.  The  Latin  American  consular 
representatives  in  New  York  City  met  in 
response  to  the  call  of  Mr.  Gonzalez,  Consul- 
General  for  Costa  Rica,  and  took  steps 
through  their  united  action  to  relieve  the 
tension  and  tie-up  in  the  trade  and  money 
transactions  between  their  lands  and  the 
United  States. 


The  pan  AMERICAN  UNION  is  the  inter= 
national  organization  and  office  maintained 
in  Washington,  D.  C.,  by  the  twenty=one 
American  republics,  as  follows:  Argentina,  Bolivia, 
Brazil,  Chile,  Colombia,  Costa  Rica,  Cuba,  Domini= 
can  Republic,  Ecuador,  Guatemala,  Haiti,  Honduras, 
Mexico,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  Paraguay,  Peru,  Salva= 
dor.  United  States,  Uruguay,  and  Venezuela.  It  is 
devoted  to  the  development  and  advancement  of 
commerce,  friendly  intercourse,  and  good  under= 
standing  among  these  countries.  It  is  supported  by 
quotas  contributed  by  each  country,  based  upon  the 
population.  Its  affairs  are  administered  by  a Direc= 
tor  General  and  Assistant  Director,  elected  by  and 
responsible  to  a Governing  Board,  which  is  com= 
posed  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States 
and  the  diplomatic  representatives  in  Washington 
of  the  other  American  governments.  These  two 
executive  officers  are  assisted  by  a staff  of  inter= 
national  experts,  statisticians,  commercial  special= 
ists,  editors,  translators,  compilers,  librarians, clerks 
and  stenographers.  The  Union  publishes  a Monthly 
Bulletin  in  English,  Spanish,  Portuguese  and  French, 
which  is  a careful  record  of  Pan  American  progress. 
It  also  publishes  numerous  special  reports  and  pam= 
phlets  on  various  subjects  of  practical  information. 
Its  library,  the  Columbus  Memorial  Library,  con= 
tains  36,000  volumes,  18,000  photographs,  132,000 
index  cards,  and  a large  collection  of  maps.  The 
Union  is  housed  in  a beautiful  building  erected 
through  the  munificence  of  Andrew  Carnegie. 


Press  of  Gibson  Brothers 
Washington 


